Pictured are Lindsay Haynes with her partner Marc Bennett with their son Tristran outside premises on Campo Lane which is going to be the site for their new business

A COUPLE are launching their ‘dream’ business in Sheffield after years of struggling to find fulfilling jobs.

Lindsay Haynes and partner Marc Bennett are opening what they believe to be the city’s first combined herbal tea room and holistic therapy centre.

But it has been a challenge and they say their idea would not have got off the ground were it not for The Prince’s Trust charity.

Former teaching assistant Lindsay lost her job at Abbeydale Grange school when it closed in 2010 – and after that struggled to find a permanent, full-time role.

Marc, a trained massage therapist, was also struggling with temporary agency jobs and the arrival of their son Tristran was an added financial strain.

Lindsay, of Handsworth, said: “Looking back, this was probably the lowest point in my life. Everything I had and loved had been ripped away from me.

“When you are sitting in a job centre trying desperately to find a role you get the impression people think you are only there to get the money.

“There was no way we would have got the funding to set up the business from any other source – we didn’t have the security the banks wanted.

“The Prince’s Trust recognised our idea for what it was, a good idea that would work and give us the security to be self sufficient.”

The arrival of Tristran, now aged one, has also shaped the couple’s business venture. It is to be breastfeeding-friendly and will stock family herbal products after they found a lack of service in these areas.

The Prince’s Trust provided Lindsay with a £4,000 loan for the tea room and Marc with £2,600 for the therapy side of the business, as well as a support mentor.

Lindsay, aged 31, said: “This is my dream come true – I can’t believe we are finally about to launch the shop.”